Plant for cleaning articles smeared with oil, greases, or the like



Feb. 6, 1945. A. HELFENSTEIN 2569,050 PLANT FOR CLEANING ARTICLES SMEARD WITH OIL', GRE/ASES., OR THE LIKE Filed April 22, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1/@12 for ,a/w /faffmsrf//v Feb. 6, 1945. A. HELFENsTEl-N' PLANT FOR CLEANNG ARTICLES SMEARED WITH OIL, GREASES, OR THE LIKE Filed April 22, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 In ven or ,40p/n /faff/vsrf//v Patented Feb. 6, 1945 PLANT FOR CLEANING ARTICLES SMARED WITH OIL, GREASES, OR THE LIKE Adam Helfenstein, Aesch, near Basel, Switzerland, assigner to the Swiss firm of Fr. Sauter A. G. Fabrik elektr. Apparate, Basel, Switzerlland Application April 22, 1943, Serial No. 484,090 In Switzerland March 18, 1942 Claims.

The present invention relates to a plant or installation for cleaning or deterging articles, particularly metal articles, Asmeared with oil, grease or like impurities, this plant belonging to the type wherein the articlesto be deterged are conveyed in baskets guided one after the other by means of endless chains through baths made of several solvents, also through drying zones. y

Plants for this purpose are already known comprising, inside the containers for the solvent and above the baths, cooling coils through which are led the articles to be cleaned after they have left at least the last'bath, whereby the liquid solvent which evaporates oir ther articles being cleaned is caused to be precipitated.A Other plants are also known wherein cooling devices are provided exclusively at the inlet and outlet of the container so as to the largest possible extent to prevent the solvent vapors from escaping whenever doors or valves are opened. Plants of the aforesaid first category present the disadvantage that the containers for the liquid solvent must have a great height so as to enable the cooling coils to be sufiiciently eflicacious, which implies the use of large quantitiesy of material and gives the plant a considerable overall size. Plants of the aforesaid second category wherein the cooling devices are provided only at the inlet and outdisadvantages, said construction being charac- A therethrough and spring-urged to closed position immediately after.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved cleaning plant as aforesaid wherein the container for the solvent baths andthe overhangingfunnels are so co-related. as to permit` any quantity of solvent which settles on the inner walls of said funnels due to the cooling action to trickle down into thebathsgthereby obviating a loss of solvent.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved cleaning plant as aforesaid having an entirely automatic operation and requiringa minimum of attending labor 'Y and supervision,

said operation being also automatically interruptable so as to permit transient stoppage of the articles being cleaned and evaporation of the solvent still adhering thereto.

With these and such other objects in view as will incidentally appear hereafter, the invention comprises the novel construction and combination of parts that will be now described in de` tail with reference to the'accompanying dia.- grarnmatic drawings illustrating and exemplifying the same and forming a part of the present disclosure. A

In the drawings: l

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the cleaning plant.

Figfz is a vertical section thereof taken at right angles to Fig. l. Fig. 3 shows a detail of construction.

The container l has its` lower portion divided by means of partitions 5, 6 into three dipping chambers containing different solvent baths. Along two front sides of the container IV are provided funnels 1, 8 which arer cooled internally by means of refrigerating coils 9, I0. These funnels are closed at their upper ends by flaps or valves Il, I2 and become transiently opened by the passing of the conveying baskets which contain the articles to be cleaned. Above the funnels extends a frame I3 on which are supported an actuating motor I4 and endless chains which move about sprockets I5, IB, Il, I8, I9, 20, 2l, 22,

. imposed relation upon which are laid the baskets 33 containing the articles to be cleaned. The

baskets which must be led through thecontainer 'I are laid close to one another on the upper table 3| whence they are picked up and taken by a transverse bar 34 spanning the gap between the two chains 3U, whereas the baskets which come `out of the container I and are led up through the funnel 8 are automatically laid upon the table 32 whence theyglide off downwardly.

35 designates an electric switch adapted to be automatically opened when there is no basket left on the table 3| so as to bring about through the medium of a time relay stoppage of the operation of the plant. Subject to baskets in the shape of drums revoluble about a horizontal axis and tted with an outer toothed wheel being used, it becomes possible to cause them to rotate, after they have `left the bath 4, by means of a rack 31 with which the said toothed wheel comes into meshing engagement, whereby should the articles to be cleaned be hollow, the liquid solvent can flow out of them. 38 designates a guiding bar.

The bathsv of solvent liquids areheated by means of heating pipes 39 to a suitable temperavture for cleaning purposes.,v The vapours which are precipitated infthefunnels ',I,'8 and against the walls of the container l are collected in slanting channels 4I) and ow into the pure bath 4, whence a continuous overflow takes place into the baths 3 and 2. In order to preclude upper flow of the clean liquid solvent, the partitions are.

duplicated and so provided as to cause the least pure liquid solvent to be forced downwardly through apertures 43, 44.

I'he foregoing plant operates as follows:

The baskets containing the arti-cles to be cleaned.

or deterged are laid upon the carriertable 3I along which they glide automatically downwardly towards the lower end of the table. Several baskets may be laid close to one another on From this position the baskets areL lsequentially driven at time intervals by the conthisA table.

veying chains 30, i. e. by the transverse bars 34 and are moved over the sprockets I'I, I6 and 29, whence they are introduced into zthe funnel 1.

VThe naps I I are opened down by. the passing baskets and urged back to closed position by springs. The baskets are afterwards guided over the'sprockets 28, 21, 26,125, 24, 23, 22 andZI and dppw sequentially into the baths 2, 3, i4 whence they are led upwardly, through the funnel 8.

-While passingthrough this funnel, the baskets open up the aps I2 which afterwardsl are closed back by gravity. After having left the funnel 8, the baskets are-moved over the sprocketsV 20,

IS and then laid on the table 32 along which they vglide automatically in a downward direction, thereby leaving space for further baskets.l Ilhe motor I4is stopped automatically after a certain laps'eof ltime by the switch 35 when'thereare no longer any baskets on the table 3|. Conversely the motor I4 is again started as soon as abasket is laid on the upper table 3 l -The individual baths may have different defgrees of purity.k The bath 2 in which a'partialv cleaning takes place is the least pure bath, while the bath 4 has the highest degree of purity. During the passing of the baskets through the funnel i8, .the liquid solvent which adheres to the articles A,being deterged evaporates off and isprecipitated on the cooled walls of the funnel. Where the articles to be cleaned are hollow so as to be llable. with liquidsolvent, an'advantage can be gainedv by using, as above stated, baskets in the shape of revoluble drums which' are caused to rotate when leaving the batch 4 so as to expel theliquidsolvvent from the cleaned hollow articles.

The vapours generated by the'hot liquid solvent settle on the walls of the container I and on the cooled walls of the funnels and [collect in the channels 40 whence they trickle down into the bath 4. The lother baths are fed as above described owing to the overflow which occurs through holes 4I, 42 in the partitions. The operation of the plant may be such-as to cause the baskets, after they have left the ybath 4, to be stopped' automatically and held motionless during a certain lapse of time so as to enable the liquid solvent which adheres to the cleaned articles to evaporate off. In order to achieve a saving in the consumpv tion of energy for heating the-plant, an advantage will be gained by providing at the lower end of the container I`a thermally insulating layer 43;

see` Fig. 3.

A considerable advantage of thev aforesaid plant resides inthe saving in the consumption of solvents. The vapours from the liquid solvents settle almost completely on the walls of cooled funnels and cannot escape from thev plant except in very smalll quantities during the periods when thenaps or covers of the funnels are open. The conveyance of the baskets by means of chainsl is so adjusted as to prevent vthe covers II and I2 from being `opened simultaneously thereby precluding` any draught through the funnels. 'Ihe operation of the'plant is entirely automatic that is to say the attendant in charge of its supervision merely lays the baskets on the table 3| and takes them' off the table 32. Therefore, the attendant does not come into contact with the solvent vapours as is the case in other cleaning plants of this type.

What I claim is:

1..A plant for cleaning articles, particularly,

metal articles, smeared with oil, grease or like impurities, comprising a container forr baths of impurity-removing solvents, endless conveyor chains having a portion of their stretch adjacent said container, driving means for said chains, article-receiving baskets hung on said chains, a pair of elongated funnels standing over said baths and traversed by the chains and baskets, cooling means associated With thefunnels and substantially coextensive therewith, pivotable covers on said funnels, said covers being spring-urged rto closed` position and rockable to open'position by the passing of the baskets, and a pair of carrier tables arranged eXteriorly of said container and extending between the funnels and to such positions of adjacency with two sides of the chains that the latter |can pick the-,basketsA sequentially off one of the tables and drop them on the other f table after they have travelled through the container. f l I 2. A plant for `cleaning articles, particularly metal articles, smeared with cih-grease or like impurities, comprising a container divided by vertical partitions into compartments Ifor baths of impurity-removing solvents of different degrees of purity,endless conveyor rchains having a portion of their stretch adjacent and over saidcontainer, driving means for vsaid chains, articlereceiving baskets hangable on said chains, a pair A compartments for baths` of impurity-removing solvents, the bath situated at the` uppermost level having the highest degree of purity, endless conveyor 'chains having a portion of their stretch adjacent and over said container, driving means for said chains, article-receiving baskets hangable on said chains,y a pair of elongated funnels upstanding over said container and traversed by the opposite runs of the chains and by thev baskets driven thereby, cooling means in thefunnels andsub-` stantially coextensive therewith,'rcovers.on said funnels, said covers being spring-urged to closed position |and transiently openable by the passing of the baskets, apair of basket-carrying tables in impurities, comprising a container for different baths of impurity-removing solvents, endless oonveyor chains having a portion of their stretch along and over said container, driving means for said chains, said means including an electric motor and chain-engaging sprockets, article-receiving baskets removably hung to said chains, ya pair of elongated funnels upstanding over said baths and traversed by the chains and baskets, cooling means in the funnels and substantially coextensive therewith, covers on the funnels springeurged to closed position and capable of being opened by the passing of the baskets, a pair of superimposed spaced tables arranged exteriorly of said container Iand between the funnels for delivering the baskets to one side ofthe chains and receiving the baskets on their opposite side, and current switches associated With theu-pper table for stopping motion of the chains if no baskets rest there on, said switches being also operable to hold the lchains still for keeping the baskets in the baths and the drying zones outside the baths for any selected duration.

5. A plant for cleaning'articles, particularly metal articles, smeared With oil, grease or like impurities, comprising a container having lagged Walls for baths of impurity-removing solvents, means for lie-ating said baths, endless conveyor chains having a portion of their stretch adjacent said container, driving means for said chains,l article-receiving baskets adaptable to said chains, a pair of elongated funnels upstanding over said baths and traversed by the chains and baskets, cooling means in the funnels and substantially coextensive therewith, covers on said funnels, said I covers being spring-urged to closed position and capable of being opened by the passing of the baskets, a pair 'of spaced superimposed basketcarrying tables arranged exteriorly of said container and spanning the gap between two sides of the chains moving in opposite directions, and switch means associated With one of said tables for stopping said driving means.

ADAM HELFENSTEIN. 

